redondo-beach

I was thinking of booking a flight to Bangkok for 3 weeks in the summer and take a few days off and fly to Saigon where I have never been .

Has anyone done that ?
Did you get your Vietnam Visa in Bangkok or on arrival ?

What airline did you use ?

I know a couple years ago Lufthansa had a Bangkok - Saigon flight !

Anything else to think of ?

Thanks for your ideas

RB

Braindrain

I used BKK as a connection from HKG to SGN. It's a short flight (~2.5 hrs) and used Thai. There might be some LCC's doing this run but I didn't bother checking. There's a couple of threads on VOA in the Asia forum.

whackyjacky

Done it a lot. Go to VN Embassy on Wireless Rd (next to Plaza Athenee). You'll have the visa the next day. They close for 2hrs for lunch 11:30-1:30 maybe. Big lines and wait time at SGN for VOA. Air Asia is usually the cheapest, but check Kayak. I took a Turkish Air flight back to BKK a month ago and it was maybe $10 more than AA. wj

redondo-beach

thanks for the info, what do you need to bring for the visa ? and what does it cost ? Do you pay in Baht ?

thanks again

RB

Yoshi212

TG (A330), TK (A340) & LH (744) fly from BKK to SGN. LH is only on select dates. Personally I'd take TK for service and timing.

whackyjacky

Yeah baht and your PP. That's all you need. Can't remember how much. Got mine in Phnom Penh in Dec and it was $40 maybe $50. BTW, make sure the date on your visa precedes your arrival. They were running a scam at the BKK Embassy a few years back where VN immigration at SGN threatened to turn you around back to BKK because you arrived BEFORE the visa date. They asked for $100. I gave 'em $40 I think. Happened to 5 or 6 other people I know too. I don't think they're pulling it anymore though. wj

SaigonCyclo

It's not a VOA. It's a pre-arranged Visa. You can't just show up in Saigon and get a Visa (they won't let you on the plane without a Visa in your passport or a letter explaining you have a pre-arranged Visa).

You should also bring a couple of passport photos as well.

whackyjacky

I got the photos done in PP and they didn't want 'em. Something new I guess. This was a month ago. Maybe you should get 'em anyway. You will use them eventually. wj

dsquared37

In PNH it's $45 and you'll either get the passport back that afternoon or the next day. Do not give the guards outside your passport no matter what they say.

A few years ago I received a visa at the Vietnam embassy in Bangkok. At that time there was a maze of dates when the embassy was closed due to new years etc and I paid for a rush visa.

As for flights I've taken LH. That segment is basically service-less, at least that particular time. No beer ('we offload the beer in BKK') and no immigration forms ('we never carry them'). Ironically after calling them out of both items they miraculously appeared. My parents in F got neither. Next time I'll take TK.

VN also runs special BKK-SGN so look into them as well.

milesk

We are making similar trip this weekend (msp-nrt-bkk then bkk-sgn). Booked bkk-sgn with Air Asia at ~$70usd one way. Heard mixed reports on the VOA so we sent our passports to the embassy in the US to get the Visa (not just a Visa approval). Here is the link:

http://www.vietnamembassy-usa.org/se...cation-process

Will post back next week on how it goes.

whackyjacky

How much was the visa ? I looked at it a few years back and thought it was kinda expensive. wj

milesk

It was more expensive at $80 for a single entry 30 day and $100 for a multi entry plus the Fed Ex shipping both ways. For us it was worth the extra to avoid standing in line for however long and hopefully avoid any potential issues. Also, the visa stays in the passport vs a VOA where they remove it when you leave.

SaigonCyclo

Its not a VOA. Its a pre-arranged Visa. You can't arrive in Vietnam and get a Visa (they won't let you on the plane without a Visa in your passport or a letter explaining you have a pre-arranged Visa).

Where did you read they remove the Visa from your passport when you leave? What do they do, tear the page out of your passport? My pre-arranged Visa is still in my passport.

Braindrain

Definitely misinformation.

CrazyInteg

I have always got my visa in the US ahead of time. It's somewhere around $75
I flew Qatar airways. WOW! Most impressive coach seats ever. I think it was around $120 round trip. Vietnam airways was the same price but I didn't like their departure times. Both airlines served food. This was 2 years ago.